It was a Hellraiser Pinhead tattoo that first prompted me to approach Travis, but that was not what I ended up discussing with him.

Rather, he offered up this interesting piece on his left leg:


The design depicts a man trying to break through bars, to force his way out of prison.

If something looks off about this, it is because it does not appear as it was originally envisioned by Travis or the artist.

The artist was Travis' brother-in-law, but something unexpected happened halfway through the process.

Travis' sister got divorced, and the brother-in-law tattoo artist was no longer in their life.

Initially, he wanted to find another artist to finish the piece but, as time passed, he decided that he liked it that way, that the initial tattoo's meaning became charged with additional symbolism.

Thanks to Travis for sharing this cool tattoo with us here at Tattoosday!